Category Archives: Inspiration

Just a quick news item.

Last night I received an e-mail from Sarah Wallbank giving me permission to dedicate the book to her late husband, and one of my lecturers from Bournemouth, Derek. She even remembered Derek talking to her about my visit to Leeds nine years ago and how enthusiastic he had been about the projects we discussed.

As Derek and I sat around the table in the restaurant, he could visualise how ‘Hidden’, as the film, could be made and was coming up with ideas of how to keep the costs down. It was having lecturers like Derek, who could inject so much enthusiasm and energy into his students, that has kept me going all these years. I know other contemporaries of mine who, even after nearly thirty years, still are full of a childish enthusiasm and sparkle that will never let them grow old. We’re all Peter Pan’s in disguise.

My hope is that I can pass on the sparkle, from the fire that Derek ignited in me, to the students I have had the privilege and honour to have taught in more recent years.

So, as a final note, ‘Hidden’ has been uploaded to Lightning Source and is dedicated to Derek Wallbank in honour of the encouragement and inspiration he gave me in college and beyond, throughout the course of my career. To Derek.

Share on Facebook

I was checking my e-mails this morning and realised I had got a newsletter from Lynette Lewis. Who’s Lynette Lewis you may ask? Well, the video above should give you an idea. Lynette’s newsletter was also about ‘breaking your dreams into bite-size pieces’.

This Month’s Topic — Breaking Your Dream Into Bite-Size Pieces
I recently had the great privilege of speaking for MARS, a well-known company with brands such as Snickers, Skittles, Wrigleys, Altoids, Uncle Ben’s, and my personal favorite M&M’s.

Working with this group of bright, talented brand experts was a bit intimidating. In delivering a “Building Personal Brand and Eminence” workshop I wondered, “What can I teach them about brand?”

Truth is, we all need assistance when it comes to personal branding, and one of the most effective ways to build it is by aligning it with personal dreams.

I introduced them to a tool I call the “3-D” Tool. This tool breaks a dream into bite-size segments that focus energies and time more effectively. Here’s a quick overview….

DREAM — What one dream would you most like to pursue this year?
What does it look like fulfilled?
How does it impact other areas (the Dream Dynamic i.e. ripple effect)?

DIAGNOSIS — What is holding you back?
What resources in your current personal brand and relationships can further your dream?

DESIGN — The 1-1-1 Strategy — Doing One Dream, One Step, Once a Week

I am rarely too full for a few M&M’s so it’s worth asking, “Is my schedule really too full to make a bite-size step toward one dream once a week? Imagine, 52 steps this year toward your dream. How great will you feel? How inspiring will you be?

You have a personal brand to leverage and a dream worth pursuing. Combine the two, then cut it in half, or thirds, or whatever bite-size you need to make progress. Small nuggets now, big impact later.

I’d love to hear if this resonates with you and what dreams you plan on pursuing, A few more M&M’s please! I’m cheering you on,

Lynette.

It got me thinking about how I approach many of the projects I take on board and what I had learnt this year from my students through sharing. So below is the e-mail response I wrote back to Lynette:

Hi Lynette,

Thanks for the newsletter. Breaking your dreams into bite-size pieces works. I have big dreams but over the years I have learnt how to achieve many of them with limited resources by breaking the whole into smaller component parts. It’s like when I was a kid building model planes, if I followed the instructions section by section I ended up with a completed model.

Using this techniques I have managed to undertake postgraduate courses, make a feature film (second in production), written two novels (current one about to be published) and published other people’s work, as well as holding down a full-time job as a lecturer, being a husband and father. The key to all these activities has been to breaking the activities into bite-size pieces and watching each grow into the dream. It also takes patience but it is always worth it.

Another part of realises your dreams, is that often the dream is the same for other people and by breaking the dream into bite-size pieces it becomes possible for them to share in your dream. This is currently being achieved in a digital feature film I’m working on where others are keen to help out but again maybe restricted in what they can offer. They get a real sense of achievement when given a small bite-size piece to work on and, collectively, we all get to share in the success of reaching our goals when the piece is finally finished.

So bite-size pieces definitely works and much can be achieved. Much can be shared and later talked about on reflection as new projects are developed in bite-size pieces.

All the best

George Kingsnorth

In this day and age where the bottom dollar is seen to be the most important thing in our lives, I think we need to step back and remember our dreams. In Lynette’s video she indicates how we as individuals seem to require permission to do the things we want to do. What she is encouraging us is to give ourselves the permission and go ahead and do it. What I have realised is that most people and organisations don’t want you to do what you want so they will not actively give you permission. If that is what you are waiting for you will never fulfill your dreams.

If you are interested in finding out more about Lynette Lewis, check out here website at http://www.lynettelewis.com/index.html

Share on Facebook